Quail Island / Otamahua
At the top of Lyttelton Harbour is Quail Island, a small and easily accessible adventure! This can be a short half day paddle, or you can camp on the island to turn it into a bigger trip!
Quick Facts
Start / Finish - Bayview Place, Cass Bay, 8082
Distance - 11km
Time - 2 hours up to 2 days
Difficulty - Easy
Tides - The sea between Quail Island and King Billy Island dries up at low tide, meaning that you cannot paddle this section 2.5-hours either side of low tide at Lyttleton (yellow section on the map). There is a channel between Moepuku Point and King Billy Island which remains passable at low tide.
Cautions - The crossing between Cass Bay and Quail Island is almost 2km and is a serious undertaking in the wind. Bear in mind that the prevailing wind picks up in the afternoon - so crossing back may be considerably harder.
Key Planning Information
Wind
Swell
This trip can be done either way around, think about what the wind is doing, and if you're paddling close to low tide think about whether doing the longer section first will make the sand bar to the south east of Quail Island more or less likely to be exposed.
The crossing from Cass Bay to Quail Island is just under 2km. This is a fairly big crossing, especially if you are on something like a SUP or sit on top kayak. Be aware that any wind from the East is likely to generate sizeable waves. It is possible to start and finish at Charteris Bay to reduce this crossing. This may also provide additional wind shelter depending on the wind direction.
As you aim for Quail Island from Cass Bay, aim right of the pine forest. At the other end of the bay with the cliffs are a series of caves which you can paddle into.
There are many shipwrecks to check out on the Western side of Quail Island, which you can paddle up to. There is a nice beach on the Southern shore and you can camp here overnight to turn this into a two day adventure! This beach has an interesting building that was the barracks from when Quail Island was a quarantine island for people with leprosy and other contagious diseases. You can find lots of great information about Quail Island here
There's a nice 4km walk around Quail island which is worth considering doing!
Quail Island can be a good addition to the Sumner to Cass Bay trip, especially if you want to camp or make this into a long trip.
Alternatives:
- It's 8.5km to paddle from Cass Bay around Quail Island and directly back.
- It's 10km to paddle from Charteris Bay around Quail Island and King Billy Island using the shortest crossing point (orange line on map).
